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Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos

About the book

Is the universe actually a giant quantum computer? According to Seth Lloyd, the answer is yes. All interactions between particles in the universe, Lloyd explains, convey not only energy but also information–in other words, particles not only collide, they compute. What is the entire universe computing, ultimately? “Its own dynamical evolution,” he says. “As the computation proceeds, reality unfolds.” Programming the Universe, a wonderfully accessible book, presents an original and compelling vision of reality, revealing our world in an entirely new light.From the Trade Paperback edition.read more

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Readers' Reviews

johnnylogic

Strangely lacking in argument, PtU contains a remedial-level overview of classical information theory, theory of computation and their quantum counterparts. It reads like an updated Pythagorean mysticism, or, less sympathetically, an orgy of computational fetishism. Lloyd is undeniably clever and convivial, but he has yet to make his case for universal computationalism.read more

I really like Seth Lloyd. There are many extremely smart people today, but only few of them are able to explain and present certain theories so they are comprehensible to other people (especially in QM). So, in a way, Lloyd is like a modern Richard Feynman, also because he is witty, funny and easy to follow. Even though he deals with subjects that are way beyond our everyday experience, and even in that category, are very hard to conceptualize and understand, cause at a time they can be very counterintuitive, he still manages to connect them with things slightly closer to 'our world', so they become more presentable to people who are not so familiar with QM and information theory, and at the same time, offer a new perspective to people who are (and you can never have enough different perspectives of entropy, trust me). So this book is never boring even if you have previously encountered theory of universe as ultimate quantum computer, entropy explained through known and unknown qubits, connection of all of that with ToE...In certain fields you can never find a middle ground between popular science literature and strictly scientific literature, and as someone who studied CS and will also be studying physics, lately I try to stay away from the first and focus on the second, but nonetheless, I really liked and enjoyed this book.Also,I used to think I would be willing to give a kidney to be able to attend Lloyd's lectures @ MIT. I was wrong. Now I KNOW I would gladly give both of them.read more

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Publishers Weekly

Lloyd, a professor at MIT, works in the vanguard of research in quantum computing: using the quantum mechanical properties of atoms as a computer. He contends that the universe itself is one big quantum computer producing what we see around us, and ourselves, as it runs a cosmic program. According to Lloyd, once we understand the laws of physics completely, we will be able to use small-scale quantum computing to understand the universe completely as well. In his scenario, the universe is processing information. The second law of thermodynamics (disorder increases) is all about information, and Lloyd spends much of the book explaining how quantum processes convey information. The creation of the universe itself involved information processing: random fluctuations in the quantum foam, like a random number generator in a computer program, produced higher-density areas, then matter, stars, galaxies and life. Lloyd's hypothesis bears important implications for the red-hot evolution-versus-intelligent design debate, since he argues that divine intervention isn't necessary to produce complexity and life. Unfortunately, he rushes through what should be the climax of his argument. Nevertheless, Lloyd throws out many fascinating ideas. (For another take on information theory, see Decoding the Universe on p.53.) 12 b&w illus. 100,000 first printing. (Mar. 17) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved